Today’s Great North Run will see a team of 60 runners head to the sunny north east to run 13.1 miles from the city to the sea in aid of brain tumor research.

Among the candidates in the search is Anne Hayes, who is taking on the challenge in memory of her daughter, Bernadette Summerson, who died following a glioblastoma (GBM) in 2014, at the age of 31. Anne will run with her son, James (pictured with Anne after last year’s Great North Run) and youngest daughter, Mary Jo, and say the family hopes to spare others their heartache in the future She added: “I know Bernadette will be so proud that we are doing this together in her precious memory.”

It’s full steam ahead as West Midlands Trains employee Tom Harty hopes to complete his half marathon in less than 96 minutes. He runs towards “give something in return” after a family member died from a rare type of cancer in 2019. Tom’s employers, West Midlands Trains, announced a charity partnership with Brain Tumor Research in May with the aim of raising £50,000 over two years.

Another of our corporate partners will be cheering on a colleague as they take on this great challenge. Annabel Howell is a marketing assistant at Verdant Leisure, which supports brain tumor research as part of its charity of the year and hopes to raise £50,000 over the course of the partnership. After already running a 10k race, Annabel strives to complete the half marathon distance and runs with her cousin, Dylan Stafford, and her boyfriend, Stevie Hilton.

Good luck to everyone taking part in the Great North Run for Brain Tumor Research. We’ll cheer you on to the finish line.

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